You Just Completed a Triathlon, What Do You Do Next? Breastfeed?

Moms are constantly under scrutiny for the things they do. In fact, being judged as a mom is so common that later this week a movie is being released about mom shaming titled Bad Moms. Fortunately, this story is about a mom getting a positive reaction for a change.

This past weekend, 28 year old Katrina Bolduc competed in her first triathlon after giving birth to her son seven months ago. While this is a tremendous feat, what has people excited is what Bolduc did after the race. Less than a minute after completing the triathlon in California, Bolduc publicly breastfed her hungry son. While this may not seem newsworthy to some, public breastfeeding has been a controversial topic for decades. Four years ago, photos of military moms breastfeeding caused a large internet stir, and just last year Alyssa Milano found herself pummeled with the public’s opinions after posting a photo of herself breastfeeding her newborn.

Bolduc also posted a photo of her breastfeeding after the race stating, “First triathlon back postpartum and as soon as I finished my little 7 month old needed to eat. Got my medal and fed my baby like a champ! I dared anyone to test me here, but no one even cared, and even commented as I fed him “congrats”. This is a special day in the books for me!”

Fortunately, this story has a happy ending. Rather than being met with the typical judgmental looks and criticism that comes with breastfeeding in public, Bolduc says no one really noticed. Many stopped to congratulate her on her race; she told Today, “people were saying, ‘Good job, mama.’ It was a huge relief for me.”

Her photo also sparked support from communities across the country. Breastfeeding Mama, a group supporting women and moms, shared the picture of Bolduc and now has dozens of supporting comments and photos of other active moms breastfeeding.

What do you think of Bolduc publicly breastfeeding? Does the positive response show a shift to acceptance of the practice? Let us know in the comments below or @WhatsTrending on Twitter!